1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image display device, and more particularly, to a display device and method of managing a list of channel information in a video display device.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
With the widespread use of cable, satellite, and other digital services, the number of channels available to subscribers is increasing. Compared to analog service, one of the advantages to digital service is not only higher quality video and audio, but it also provides various added services, such as on screen channel/program guide. As a result, digital service requires more data than as required by analog service. Because transmitting a large amount of data takes time, data is often compressed prior to the transmission for a faster transmission. Likewise, prior to transmitting a large amount of data related to digital service, video/audio data is corn pressed using a compression medium such as Moving Picture Experts Group-2 (MPEG-2) and Audio Code Number 3 (AC-3). The compressed data is transmitted via cable, satellite, or other service by using Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK)/VSB/Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) transmission methods.
With more advanced compression and transmission methods, the video display devices are able to take advantage of improved methods which process much more data than analog service. Consequently, the use of digital service has expanded to provide subscribers with more channels with added service, such as higher quality pictures and sound. Moreover, digital service provides other added service such as home shopping, electronic paper, and stock information. These advanced types of video display devices, like the satellite signal receiver box, could be connected from an external source to a television set employing Phase Alternating Line (PAL)/National Television System Committee (NTSC) standards or can be provided internally in a television set.
Furthermore, with a rapid improvement in multimedia technology, high quality video and audio are becoming a common place. Accordingly, not only are people becoming accustomed to better video and audio, people's expectation and demand for better picture, sound, and other added services are increasing. As such, there is a need for digital television, internet services, and the like to provide multimedia service of such caliber.
As one of the ways for people to enjoy the improved multimedia service, people use television network, broadband, or modem connections to download the multimedia data which are compressed and transmitted via various programming languages such as Hyper Text Makeup Language (HTML). Here, such multimedia data service providers are divided into two major categories—those using the existing television network and the other using modem connection. Subsequently, these types of service providers usually use private section of Moving Picture Experts Group-2 (MPEG-2) stream or Digital Storage Media—Command and Control (DSM-CC) protocol to receive multimedia information from a server.
As facilitated by improvements in compression and transmission methods, an increased number of channels provide more subscriber-oriented information. With an increasing number of channels and information available to subscribers, more and more subscribers desire faster access and controllability to desired channel/program information. In the past, the video display devices only provided limited functions and information such as auto selection and periodic channel searches, which provided limited information to subscribers, such as providing the status of a certain request information or reorganized channel/program information.
However, with the improving technology in digital services, an increasing number of people are likely to become exposed to more channels and more information. The existing device would not be able to process the added information efficiently or effectively. Simply put, more channels and program information means more unwanted or not watched channels. Viewers/users usually delete these channels so as to browse through a large number of channels more efficiently. In other words, this means that there are more channels for the users to delete. Without a better device to accommodate such a growing need and concern, the users would be left performing the deleting operation every time the users browses through a large number of channels. This is inefficient and inconvenient to the users.